Snowdrops - NOT amateur radio

 

We saw plenty of snowdrops this morning. They are a sure sign of hope for better days ahead. 

According to the UK Met Office spring starts March 1st which is only a few weeks away.

10m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

At about 1247z, I turned on 10m QRP FT8 with 2.5W to the tiny indoor loop. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1535z: No spots here all day. 

UPDATE 1807z:  No RX spots here today, but just a single spot of my QRP by M0NKR (27km).

UPDATE 1842z:  Just 1 late spot of EA5ASQ (1367km) on 10m FT8 RX. Overall today, pretty poor.

Collapsing White Cliffs of Dover on video - NOT amateur radio

One of the UK's icons are the "White Cliffs of Dover".  Apparently these are receding at about 12 inches a year because of erosion. They are made of chalk, hence the white.  A recent fall was captured on video. Quite spectacular footage.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-55931406

Hare Park Chippenham near Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

 

The photo shows Hare Park, Chippenham near Cambridge  earlier. 

The snowdrops here are stunning.  The grounds are only open at certain times of the year.

Early optical experiments

One of my Facebook memories today was this photo of my 481THz optical beacon tests in daylight over a 1.6km line of sight path. Later I did much further at night "over the horizon". For the avoidance of doubt, that was 20dB S/N - so very strong. 

Sunspots - Thursday February 4th 2021

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 11. A=14 and K=3.

FT991A versus FTDX10

About 18 months ago, I bought a Yaesu FT991A.  I thought about part-exchanging this for an ICOM IC-705 as a dedicated QRP man. 

Since then the 100W Yaesu FTDX10 has launched. This does not have 2m or 70cm, but does have 4m and an auto ATU. It is more expensive. For 2m and 70cm my FT817ND is probably fine.

Knowing my luck, just after I bought an FTDX10, they would launch a QRP version!

For now, I may just stick with what I have unless I get a very tempting offer.

Google storage - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday I had a confusing message from Google saying that after June 2021 Google Photos is now included in my 15GB free allowance. Obviously, this is Google trying to get you to buy more storage.

What I am unclear about is this: usually I store my photos on Google Photos not in their original size but smaller (as Google allows) so the storage is totally free. My question is is this still free?

UPDATE 1450z: It seems that after June 2021 what is free will no longer be for future uploads when the total allowance exceeds 15GB. See https://support.google.com/photos/answer/10100180. To me this is a way to get you to buy more storage. Clever marketing. 😣

No 472kHz TX this season

For the first time in many years, I have not been on 472kHz WSPR TX this year. 

Although the real reason is laziness, I blame it on not replacing the wire used on my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. 

Although my transverter puts out about 12W into 50 ohms, my measured ERP is about 5-10mW only. Despite this, I was copied up in Norway most nights last season on WSPR.

Others who have built the transverter have had transatlantic WSPR spots on 472kHz (630m). This is one of the most simple ways of getting on 472kHz TX. My "antenna" might not be the greatest, but it does work and the neighbours, and XYL,  don't even know it is there! 

I have also used the earth-electrode "antenna" on 160m, 80m and 60m with success. It should also work on 2200m TX although I have not tried this.

2m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

It is now 1016z. A few moments ago I went on 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni. At the moment I am about +14dB S/N on G0LRD's grabber. 

So far, 7 stations have spotted me with the furthermost being G7RAU (461km) on the Lizard. No QSOs yet. Nothing yet copied on RX. There are far more people monitoring than on TX. You are far more likely to be spotted than have a QSO. My technique is to call CQ and if anyone answers reply. I rarely hunt.

UPDATE 1055z:  6 stations (all G and GW) spotted on RX and 11 spots of my QRP TX. I am still puzzled by the propagation mechanism on these long paths: although this could be aircraft reflection (and some will indeed be), it seems to happen randomly, making this unlikely.

UPDATE 1348z:  18 spots of me on 2m FT8 QRP so far today.  I have to pinch myself to remind me that this is 2m VHF QRP with an ultra simple station. Every single day this is possible, not just in lifts.

UPDATE 1900z: 70 stations in 7 countries spotted. On TX 28 stations in 6 countries have spotted me. 1 QSO.

UPDATE 2235z: 167 stations spotted on 2m FT8 today. There was a contest on as were loads of stations! I counted 19 stations on at the same time in just 2kHz of band. As it was so crowded, I decided to stay RX only from 2000z. I have never seen the 2m FT8 slot so busy.